If only they’d called it ‘Guerilla Botany’ instead. So much easier to remember/spell. … [visit site to read more]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

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The problem with survival games

22 jul 2014

Have you ever seen Survivorman? It s a documentary series about a guy called Les Stroud who spends a week in the world s most inhospitable places deserts, rainforests, tundras and survives with only the clothes on his back. Fakers like Bear Grylls have doctors on hand, camera crews, and cosy hotels to return to after filming, but Stroud does it all for real and films everything himself. It s really good TV, and I promise that after you watch the first episode you ll be hooked.

Anyway, what Survivorman shows us is that nature is terrifying, and doesn t care whether you live or die. These great, lonely expanses, whether it s the dense jungles of the Amazon or the icy plains of Alaska, are cruel, merciless places. Stroud is a seasoned survival expert, and even he struggles to find food or keep warm sometimes. Imagine if you were out there. You wouldn t last a day.

So why do survival games always have enemies in them? Zombies, cannibals, wild animals it s completely unnecessary. Nature has already done the hard work and designed the most formidable, intimidating, ruthless villain imaginable: itself. Survival sim developers seem to think they need to include some kind of threat to keep players interested, but that really isn t the case. Being stranded in the middle of nowhere with no food, no fire, and night closing in is scarier than any monster.

A survival game doesn t need conflict. There are other ways to keep a player engaged. There could be exploration elements; discovering abandoned camps or ruined buildings, and using them as makeshift shelters. There might be stories to discover, or clues to escaping the wilderness like an old map left behind by a hiker with a route scribbled on it. Or imagine finding something like Christopher McCandless bus, and reading his diary by a flickering campfire.

But for this hypothetical game to really work, a lot of love would have to be put into the atmosphere and design of the world. You d need realistic weather and lighting, and stunning natural beauty. That s another thing I love about Survivorman: Stroud is always in awe of the majesty of his surroundings, but also respectful, and occasionally fearful, of them. With a large, diverse, and beautiful environment to explore I d love somewhere like a rainy forest in the Pacific Northwest I d play the game just to wander the landscape and see what I could find before nightfall.

But let s say you re an indie developer making your dream realistic survival game, but the guy holding the cheque that ll decide whether the project lives or dies insists on some kind of danger. Well, in that case, you do it subtle. You make animal attacks rare, but possible. As you walk through the forest at night, you might hear a growl, or something stalking you. But it s unlikely it ll ever show itself; until that one, unexpected time when it does, and you have to run for your life. That would be infinitely more compelling than a million shambling zombies.

One survival game that almost gets it right is Miasmata. I love the realistic character movement, cartography system, and being able to forage for plants to craft medicines. But then that stupid monster turns up and I lose all interest. The Forest recently added a hidden enemy-free mode (type veganmode on the main menu), but it s clear the game was designed with the cannibal natives in mind, and it feels a bit empty and aimless without them. No developer I know of has been brave enough to design a survival game without any threat. Who ll be the first?

PC Gamer

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GOG celebrate their fifth birthday with a build a bundle deal

9 sep 2013

Digital distribution store GOG is celebrating its fifth birthday, which is an impressive milestone for a service that sounds like it was named by somebody celebrating their first birthday. Rather than look to you expectantly, its owners have arranged their own party: a five week extravaganza of "promos, gifts, contests, and specials with a Grand Finale in the middle of October." The first is the Pick 5 Promo, letting your create a five-game bundle from the newer end of their catalogue.

The deal picks out 25 mostly-indie games, including psychedelic tunnel racer Dyad, turn-based zombie survival Zafehouse Diaries, and the Stephen King simulator Alan Wake, all around 80% off. The deal only works if you pick out five games, meaning the minimum overall price is $10, but, assuming you can find five games in the list that you don't already own, it's a potentially great deal.

As a separate bonus discount, you can also get System Shock 2 for $2.49 until tomorrow, 10 am BST.

The Pick 5 Promo will run until next week, September 16th.

PC Gamer

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GOG.com adventure game sale discounts Machinarium, Miasmata, To The Moon and more

11 mei 2013

There are some good deals to be found in GOG.com's 'Adventurers Assemble' sale, which combines ADVENTURE GAMES with 60% OFF to make a bunch of point-and-click titles cheaper for this weekend only. If you've been waiting for an opportunity to purchase the likes of Primordia, Resonance, Machinarium, the Blackwell series, tearjerker To The Moon, or island survival game Miasmata, then you've found it. The deal ends on Monday at 3:59AM GMT, so you only have... a number of hours left on the clock.

It's primarily a list of indie adventure games, but you will find The Longest Journey and its sequel, and Incredipede on there for some strange reason. Most games will set you back $3.99 - head here to see the full list.

To coincide with IGF, PAX, GDC, OMG and WTF, Steam have slung up one of their impromptu sales, discounting tons of indie games to ensure that our libraries continue to heave under the sheer weight of unplayed games. How nice of them. I hope you've hidden your wallet after last time, because there are some cracking deals to be had, including Super Hexagon, Binding of Isaac and Terraria for silly money.

There's no countdown, so I'm assuming the many games on sale are going to stay the same price until the sale ends on March 29th (the 'Featured' games will likely rotate day by day, without offering any additional savings). There's a lot of games going cheap - more than is evident from the main page - so be sure to poke around for the ones you're interested in. Here are few of the better offers:

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

Announcement

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Wot I Think: Miasmata

13 dec 2012

Miasmata is a first-person, essentially combat-free survival game by IonFx, aka brothers Joe and Bob Johnson, and it’s out now. I’ve been exploring its green and dangerous land, and here’s what I made of it.>

Presenting the anti-Far Cry 3. Island setting, herb collection, dangerous wildlife, shacks, swimming and psychological peril. But no guns, no slaver gangs, no mystical tribes, no rich American tourists, no mini-games. Just survival. Survival from dehydration, drowning and disease. Plus falling down and a mysterious threat, but they don’t start with a ‘d’.

(more…)

Rock, Paper, Shotgun

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Wot I Think: Miasmata

13 dec 2012

Miasmata is a first-person, essentially combat-free survival game by IonFx, aka brothers Joe and Bob Johnson, and it’s out now. I’ve been exploring its green and dangerous land, and here’s what I made of it.>

Presenting the anti-Far Cry 3. Island setting, herb collection, dangerous wildlife, shacks, swimming and psychological peril. But no guns, no slaver gangs, no mystical tribes, no rich American tourists, no mini-games. Just survival. Survival from dehydration, drowning and disease. Plus falling down and a mysterious threat, but they don’t start with a ‘d’.